Polyamides, some of which are commonly referred to as nylons, are known polymers having amide groups in the polymer backbone. Polyamides have achieved great commercial success as used in synthetic fibers and engineering resins, and if not too crystalline, as plastics.
Although polyamides have many desirable characteristics, modification of the properties of the polymer would be useful. Polymer blends offer a route to novel and useful materials having improved properties, such as easier processing, better mechanical properties, chemical or environmental resistance and lower cost, and so on. When two polymers are blended, however, owing to their usual incompatibility, their blend physical properties may be much poorer than those of the individual components. It is desirable and often necessary to add a third constituent, called a compatibilizer, which functions to restore or improve the blend properties. The term compatibilizer is defined to encompass any material that is used to bring together two otherwise incompatible polymers in a blend with improved properties. Compatibilizers can be reactive or non-reactive. There is a continuing need to discover methods to increase the versatility of polyamides. It would be highly desirable to discover polymers and compatibilizers useful for blending polymers with polyamides.